Many techniques have been used to pack items for shipping and absorb impacts during shipment to protect shipped items. Popular shipping protection methods include the use of foam “peanuts,” molded foam components, formed paper, and molded pulp packaging components.
A technique that has gained recent popularity involves inflating pillows from a film material. This style of packaging allows low-volume, uninflated materials to be shipped to packers, who then inflate the raw material into a shock-absorbing packing material that easily fits around items to be packaged within a container. Customized pillow inflating machines may be used at client sites to provide on-site pillow manufacturing.
Several concerns have arisen regarding pillows as a packaging material. It is important for pillow manufacturing machines to be compact, reliable, and easy to operate. Further, pillows should be quickly manufactured and adequately sealed to reduce the likelihood of leaking or bursting. In addition, pillow manufacturing devices should produce as little waste as possible in the form of underinflated or uninflated pillows. The present invention addresses these concerns.